How much does licensing impact your collecting?

We all know that in terms of speed and performance, the licensed cars don't offer much...except for the occiasional metal chassis to donate. But when it comes to just having a car in your collection, does the license matter to you?

I saw this article in my feed from Lamely talking about Period Correct cars. Silly me, I thought that literally meant period correct cars...like more details or something. But no, apparently Period Correct is a fashion brand - who knew!? I don't know if they look cool or not (probably not for $5) but beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

Hot Wheels is no stranger to licenses. We've got Star Wars all over the place, comic books, Minions, Nintendo, BTTF, Peanuts...I mean, the list is long. I don't know how successful those lines are but they must sell because they keep making them. Between LEGO and Hot Wheels, I'm not sure who has sold out more.

Personally, I enjoy the licensed tampos on regular mainline cars rather than the unique castings like they sometimes do with the Star Wars and Marvel cars. The special edition cars are sweet but way too rich for my blood. And given that higher price point, I don't usually buy unless they just happen to be mainline cars, are on sale, or a brand I really, really want.

I remember buying a full set of He-Man cars way back when, thinking I would keep them as a collectible set. This back when I had a fleeting moment of "hey, I bet that'll be worth someting in the future." And to be honest, I don't know where that set is now. I wasn't a big He-Man fan when I was a kid so the nostalgia is mild at best. It was all the proof I needed that I'm not meant to sell Hot Wheels as a side gig.

I'm always a sucker for video game licenses. The Nintendo stuff is okay but I really dug the Atari ones they put out a few years ago. I wish they'd do a Sega line or Konami...I'd pony up for those for sure. And I'm always good to buy TV & film cars too. The BTTF cars were great and I have more A-Team Vans than one guy probably should.

Which licensed brands do you like most and seem to always seek out? And which ones would you like to see?

Discussion

^Agreed. Even when I collected for show I usually couldn’t stand the tampos. If I liked the casting enough I’d be stripping it or at least wiping the tampos off. The only thing worse to me is the narrow track width they put on some nice Mopars. And many other castings that could be more race worthy if they’d just put more space between the wheels.

All. I usually just get mainline fantasies & mainline irls. Bc those are fastest stock. I love star wars though i have a hefty collection of those some are fast and some just look good. Just want to say while im here, in '19 im planning on a stock with graphite (of course) mail in ride-on race so mostly fantasies. Not sure when yet probs in july

When I first saw the Darth Vader car, I had to have it. I believe it still sits in the top 24 of my stock list. I also like the Millennium Falcon car and the X wing fighter. I just don’t have them yet. I found the Boba Fett hotrod but haven’t opened it yet.
— Jav74